Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Florida international university and University of Miami sororities are not allowed to have houses because they're considered "brothels", or so i was told by sorority members from different GLO's.

Does anyone know any facts about this?

Yes, it's just an urban legend, a myth. Check this link:
http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/brothel.htm

There might be reasons for a lack of sorority houses (most likely space or money to build them) but it's nothing to do with brothel laws.

- Richard.

Well, some towns actually do have these laws, but it's a matter of whether or not they actually enforce them.

The brothel thing is in fact a myth.
I don't know about FIU but at UM the sororities (and some fraternities) have a suite in the Panhellenic Building. They will remain there until all NPC sororities can build at once (which is doubtful) or maybe something will come up with the University Village project.

Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

I go to FIU in miami and i can tell you this is a very common MYTH!

The sororities like to say this b/c its alot easier to explain.

if you have been around long enough about 2 years ago you might remember at the greek retreat before everglades hall was built, panhellenic brought up for discussion having suites or rooms for meetings rush etc in the everglades hall.

having a building such as this would mean we would have to pay rent to the university and take out extra insurance on the room in case of any event or mishap. this insurance and rent alone would skyrocket our dues, and that alone is hard enough for some to pay. the attitude most take are "dues now are super cheap why raise them if we dont have to".

Also, there is a thing (not sure what its called) that all sororities at FIU have..the all or none thing. if one sorority gets a house ( or room or suite whatever it is) they all have to get one.
this is almost impossible for smaller sororities to do, mostly for financial reasons, this also includes the locals such as Omega Beta Phi.

Moreover, even if they did allow us a house or a suite, or a section of a dorm whatever it is....FIU is a commuter school...most people still live at home and commute to school. There is not as much of a demand for all the members of a sorority to live on campus together.

this is happening with the fraternities, they dont have enough guys who are willing to live in the house, look at FIJI they have a gorgeous house....but not enough guys to live there that they have to open rent to the whole FIU community...
and some that already have land for the house arent building as of yet b/c not enough guys have commited to living in it once it is built.
Houses are expensive!

As for UM...they have rooms or suites where they can have meetings, but im sure they pay for it. i dont know about UM but thats what ive heard

I hope that answers all your questions!!! :)

PM me if you have more

I've heard that rumor about the lack of houses in my hometown too... GLO's at Texas Tech have lodges that look like houses, but have no residents b/c of a Lubbock city ordinance prohibiting more than 2 unrelated people from living in the same home. Dorms are exempt, but rental homes, apartments, etc. are not. It isn't enforced unless someone complains...which happened last year, and caused a big uproar.

The rumor here, is that the reason the city didn't zone Greek Circle as dormitories is b/c the person who deeded the land to the university owns alot of apartments/rental property in Lubbock, and didn't want the competition, so he put a restrictive covenant in the deed. I've seen the dedication deed though, and that language isn't there...but it's kind of funny to hear all the rumors (including the brothel one)....

Actually, Univ. of Miami is located in a city called Coral Gables. Coral Gables has many many zoning requirements, and there very well might be a brothel law still on the books.

But Coral Gables is also one of the most expensive places to live in South Florida, and I am sure housing expenses, insurance, liability, etc are good reasons for all the national sororities to back off.

(I remember mentioning this at a Miami Alumnae Panhellenic meeting about 10 years ago, soon after I first joined & all the women's comment leaned this way. "Oh, we don't want houses! It's hard enough with the suites!")

Moonstar's explanation of FIU's situation is correct - it's a commuter school & there's not that much of a demand for on-campus housing.

FYI:
Our suites are not a dorm or a living area. It is just a large meeting room with a kitchenette, 1/2 bathroom, and closet/office. Rent and maintenance is included in dues.

I think that's a myth. The same thing was said about Washington DC and that's why there were no sorority houses. However this fall five sororities will be living in houses here at GW. How do these urban myths start?

Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

It's really frustrating because in Pennsylvania this actually is a law. I believe it states something about no more than 15 can live together in one house or it will be considered a brothel. . .it is supposed to be abolished sooner or later, but there is no hurry. . . :(

Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

THERE IS NO BROTHEL LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA. There are sorority houses all across the state.

http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/brothel.htm

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...threadid=35684

Sorry if I seem bitchy, but I get so tired of people repeating things that are untrue (especially when they were discussed in a thread less than a week ago).

Edited to add sorry for repeating your link decadence, but apparently it isn't sinking in.

Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

You're right. . .you are being bitchy. The thing is this is what the university tells all of the sororities, then they stick them in Amos Hall if they have the money.

Also, if you're REALLY that tired of reading stuff that is untrue, THEN DON'T READ!!!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

I think we're all sick of the brothel law.

In any case, it doesn't exist. People all over this board have said, "But it DOES exist at my school, Panhellenic has told us so" and the lawyers on the board have looked it up and found that no matter what Panhel says, the law doesn't exist. There are, in some cases, zoning laws that prevent sorority houses (as well as fraternity houses, dorms or other dorm-like dwellings) but these are not the same things as brothel laws.

There's no point in spreading untrue information, and the brothel law is a myth. There's nothing else to it.

Actually the brothel law rumors have some truth to them, in Detroit at least. Detroit did have the brothel law in effect untill about the mid 1950's, which did prohibit the sororities way back then to be able to get a house. Now they can't get a house today because not all of the org's can afford one.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Opinions are wonderful...wrong info is not. Didn't you get a little upset when you thought people were giving incomplete info in another thread?

Once again I am not trying to be a bitch, but when people are repeating rumors of ANY kind that could be detrimental to sororities' operations, I'm going to correct them.

OK... it TOTALLY depends on your city. We were told that the lovely city of San Francisco also had these laws stating any residence with more than 5 unmarried, unrelated women was a brothel.... HOWEVER one of our sisters took the initiative and wrote to the mayor's office.. and we found out that although these laws DID exist before... they no longer do, BUT having more than 5 unrelated people living together in a house means that you are subject to more strict rules (like a hotel) regarding safety and different codes the building has to be built to. The person who responded to our inquiry about the brothel law also suggested that we speak with university officals about greek housing and the lack of it to see if maybe it was any UNIVERSITY by laws preventing the establisment of houses. I say if you REALLY want to know... ask the questions to the people who can find the truth.
For us I really think that it's the cost of housing in San Francisco that is our problem. I mean you can easily spend 1 million here on a house that isn't NEAR big enough to be a sorority house.

Glitter, I wish there were more people out there like you and your ambitious sister! The sooner that this URBAN LEGEND (just in case there's anyone who hasn't caught on yet) gets squashed, the better!

I'm always amazed that sororities in really expensive places can afford houses. Of course, they probably have alumnae that make the amount my (personal) house is worth in salary every year :)

These rules apply in Newport, Rhode Island. No more than five unrelated persons may live together. This is why MTV's The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has been delayed in filming. They had planned on using a mansion on Bellevue Ave. Then they tried to lease a property in Middletown, right next to Newport. The rule in Newport was created to crack down on party houses. Meaning ten or so college students renting a house for the summer. Used to be the cool thing to do.

I was looking forward to seeing some of the cast in Newport this summer. :(

The brothel law is a myth. That rumor floated around UNLV. In Nevada prostitution is legal in counties with less than 100, 000 people, meaning we have many brothels throughout the state except in the counties where Reno and Las Vegas sit. UNLV doesn't have sorority houses but it also doesn't have fraternity houses either, the school ran out of space and is in the middle of the city. But reno does have sorority houses and they were built before there were 100,000 people living in reno (I believe). So the law couldn't have existed.

We were also given the brothel explanation, but it's not true in Fairfax County (but being as anal as this county is, I wouldn't be surprised if we did have a law like that). There is, however, the zoning law stating that no more than 4 unrelated people can live in one residence. That's why one of my friends has been "just visiting" his roommates for a few months now. I'm sure there might be 2 or 3 places where there is a brothel law, but make sure that it's true before you post it, please!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Why are you so constantly confrontational? We have discussed this 361 times. I have seen posts by you that are just flat out rude...

flame on.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Thanks for saying what I'm pretty sure we ALL were thinking :)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Not confrontational hun, just pissed off. There's a difference. The post I sent out before I wasn't even mad. But take it as you will.

Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Since we all know the brothel thing is bs, try to get a sorority house. It could work this time.

Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

FYI, SigEp_Stud is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, a fraternity - don't think he'll be getting a sorority house anytime soon, although he might not mind living in one. ;)

Re: Re: Re: Why doesn't Miami, FL allow sorority houses?
 

Oops!!!! My bad. That's what happens when you write two posts at once!!! But the same thing applies for any sororities out there who believed in the brothel law like I did. Once my chapter has more members and I become an alum, I'm sure I'll come back to Pitt and help them get through the zoning crap. :p

We contacted the city about it because we had heard it was a law. It IS still a law, but the lady we talked to laughed when we asked about it. She told us that she highly doubted someone would bust us on it.

Although, some of my friends live in a house and their neighbors are trying to get them in trouble with the city using that old law, so we will have to see what happens.

We had zoning laws that prohibit 4 or more unrelated people from living together.